Page 34 of Scars & Starlight (Of Blood and Conquest #1)
TARA
F or the second time in just over a month, I wake up aboard an alien spaceship with a headache and not knowing how I got there. One thing is instantly obvious, though: whoever brought me here now doesn’t have good intentions.
I was almost enjoying the celebration for my pregnancy since people weren’t crowding me as much as I expected – probably Kairen’s doing – when my bladder made itself known.
Kai’s cousin, Sa’ami, offered to go to the restroom with me, but I waved her off, feeling embarrassed to have a princess hear me pee.
Now I’m torn between being glad she stayed behind and remained unhurt, and wishing she were there to sound the alarm when two large Avaren males cornered me and hit me over the head before I could scream.
How did they get me out of the palace and aboard this ship without anyone noticing?
Did they bribe the guards at the exits, or did they hurt them too?
My breathing starts to accelerate as I realize the predicament I’m in.
These people obviously have no problem with hurting a pregnant woman, and I’m terrified for the life that just started to unfurl within me.
More selfishly, I’m terrified I’m never going to see Kai again, the love I didn’t think I’d ever meet, the love I don’t want to live without anymore.
Tears gather in my eyes as I ruminate, my mind going in circles.
I’m in some sort of holding area, and bars made out of beams of light that I don’t want to risk touching are enclosing me in a cell.
I touch my head where it throbs, my fingers coming off flaked with crusted blood.
My nanites must be hard at work again, or there would surely be more blood, fresher blood.
My nanites!
Where am I?
CURRENT LOCATION: VANGUARD SHIP THE PRIDE OF AVARIS. COMMANDING OFFICER: GENERAL ZEIRAN KORVANN.
Shit .
Unfortunately, it makes sense. I don’t think any Avaren that wasn’t connected to this family expressed hostility against me.
He’s been throwing shade at me since I came here and is actively trying to dethrone the queen.
And the apples must not have fallen far from the rotten tree.
His son tried to take what wasn’t his by force.
His daughter went from one prince to another, hoping to snag a dowager queen seat.
I need to get myself and my little sprout as far away as possible from them. I need help.
Kairen? Can I talk to Kairen?
ALL OUTSIDE COMMUNICATION HAS BEEN LIMITED.
It was worth a shot.
Okay, think, Tara, think.
The hiss of the hydraulics of an opening door makes me flinch back against the wall.
But, of course, there’s nowhere to escape to, nowhere that’s safe.
The general strolls in as casually as if he were taking a walk by one of Avaris’ many moonlit lakes, his hands clasped behind his back.
He stops in front of my cell, throwing me a cold, assessing glance, looking down at me over his aquiline nose.
He looks slightly older than his children, a sharper quality to his cheekbones and jawline, though there are no typical signs of aging one might find with a human.
No lines or gray hair, no balding or loss of mass.
His eyes are dark and merciless. If they ever held any warmth, the spark has long since extinguished.
“ Princess ,” he greets with a mocking sneer. “I’m so glad you took time out of your busy schedule of partygoing to join us.”
My back straightens against the wall, my chin coming up in reflex. “You’re really going to diss me for attending a celebration I didn’t even want when you abducted the royal heir’s pregnant match? I think your moral compass needs adjusting a smidge.”
The general’s eyes flash as he processes my words – I’m not bothering to make my vocabulary alien-friendly for this bastard.
“What’s your goal here, Korvann?” I continue without giving him time to respond.
“If you wanted me dead, you wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of getting me here.
” I tilt my head, studying him. Give me a showdown with a villain over social niceties any day.
“This can’t be just to avenge your son’s death.
A guy like you cares about his standing too much to risk it for children who don’t fall in line.
I mean,” I scoff, resting my head back. “If you cared about your kids, you wouldn’t have tried to dethrone the queen while your daughter was dating her son. So, what do you want?”
As I speak, the general’s lips twitch into a smile that looks reluctant and involuntary. He crosses his arms over his chest and widens his stance, looming above me behind the bars separating us.
“You’re actually not completely brainless. There might be some use for your species after all. They can be slave labor once I’m their sovereign,” he says haughtily.
I blow air out of my nose. “Ah, so that’s it then? You think kidnapping me will get you the crown?”
“Naturally,” he drawls. “Raelith will abdicate to save your life and that of her grandchild. She’s soft and will do anything to make that brat of hers happy.”
I narrow my eyes. “Which is what a parent should be like.” I wave a hand in his direction with a disgusted sneer. “Not whatever self-serving shit you’re up to.”
Korvann waves a finger at me. “I will take care of my only surviving child. Once the universe’s resources are mine, I will direct them all into solving our genetic struggles.
No longer will we slave to rebuild civilizations the Ghorvek crushed.
If they are not strong enough to stand against them, they aren’t meant to survive! ”
My eyes widen at the zeal that overtakes the male. He’s almost frothing at the mouth.
“If Zeriah wants that useless prince, she can have him as her thrall. She can have both of them,” he spits. “But the royal line will belong to the Korvanni now.”
Numbly, I shake my head. “You’re insane,” I whisper more to myself than him. “The Avaren society is amazing as it is. You’re talking about setting it back to barbarism.”
He bares his teeth at me. “I will not be schooled by a species that hasn’t even mastered intergalactic travel.”
I lift an eyebrow. “Would you have, if it weren’t for your Creators leaving the QEA?”
Korvann’s smile turns acidic. “We mastered the nano technology required to use the array. You mastered weapons that can make your entire planet unhabitable.”
“I can’t argue with that,” I admit. “But we were well on the way to the advancements you enjoy when the Ghorvek came. The only difference between our people is that you had more time before the brutes arrived on your planet.”
“You had more time, child,” he corrects. “It just took your kind longer to crawl out of the primordial mud.”
I shake my head, exhausted by the entire situation.
“Look, we can argue evolution until we’re both blue in the face.
It’s not my area of expertise anyway. Nor am I a psychologist to discern what your damn malfunction is.
” I use the wall to get to my feet, swallowing down the nausea that comes with the action.
“What I do know,” I continue, trying to hold back my ragged panting, “is that you won’t win like this.
From everything I’ve learned this past month, it’s obvious that the people of Avaris won’t follow a tyrant. ”
The general presses his thin lips together, his eyes sparking with anger. “The people of Avaris will do whatever their sovereign tells them to do. Once Raelith abdicates and crowns me king, they’ll follow where I lead.”
“You do realize you need a woman, pardon, a female, to tell all the other boys and girls to play nice with you?” I mock, my anger getting the best of me. “And that’s the core of the issue, is it not, General? Who didn’t give you enough attention, your mommy or your match?”
Without replying, Korvann takes out a sleek gun, aims at my leg, and shoots.
As soon as I register the nearly unbearable stinging pain, the world turns black.
By the time I open my eyes again, the general is gone, and I’m alone in the room.
I push my face off the floor and realize that I peed myself.
Before I can hold it back, vomit pushes past my throat and lips, splattering onto the ground.
My stomach cramps as I retch, spitting out the vile-tasting slime.
Ugh, can’t you stop the nausea? I ask my nanites, pulling my knees up to my chest.
FETAL DISTRESS DETECTED. POWER DIVERTED TO PREVENTING LOSS OF LIFE.
My eyes shoot open at the message, and I look down at my lap. There’s blood mixed with the urine on my clothes. I clench my teeth as tears blur my vision. I’m going to rip that bastard apart with my own nails and teeth!
How bad is it?
FETAL REPAIRS IN PROGRESS. PROGNOSIS UNKNOWN.
Please, please, please.
I don’t know if I’m begging the nanites, God, these Creators, or whatever connection exists between Kairen and me. I’ll sell my soul to the devil himself if he keeps my baby safe.
“Please,” I breathe, rocking slightly in response to the pain in my abdomen. “Please.”